A Mother's Love
by VividViridian
Summary: When your son is a potential successor to a powerful Mafia family, it's really just a matter of time before someone hires someone else to kill him. When you're the only one that can protect him, you've either got to step up to the plate or let the chips fall where they may. Fortunately, as far as Nana is concerned, there is nothing a mother won't do for her son.
1. Fighter

"_A mother's love for her child is like nothing else in the world. It knows no law, no pity. It dares all things and crushes down remorselessly all that stands in its path."_

_**-** Agatha Christie_

* * *

On October 14th, Sawada Tsunayoshi joined the world, a fighter from the very first breath he drew.

Nana had been a young mother, just barely 20 years old when her stomach had first begun to swell. Her own mother wasn't there to guide her through the experience, and her husband was never by her side as often as he felt he should have been, but Nana never looked afraid. Through the cramps and the kicks and the long, unpleasant bouts of morning sickness, she wore a gentle smile.

Every day she would get up and talk to her child, rubbing her hands over her belly in small circles as she did the day's errands. In the evenings, she would rest in Iemitsu's favorite recliner, lean back, close her eyes, and sing to her son. She would tell him how much she loved him, how she couldn't wait for him to join her, whispering and giggling as she smiled and smiled and smiled.

Even when her water broke a full ten weeks too early, she smiled, all the way to the hospital.

* * *

She went into labor alone, surrounded only by nurses and doctors. Her parents were hours away, and her husband was overseas on business. For several hours she pushed and squeezed and breathed through the pain, hair drenched with sweat as her ears heard nothing but her own cries and the muffled encouragement of the strangers around her, until finally…

"Congratulations, Sawada-san," Tsuna was born at exactly 27 weeks. He was a frail little thing, weighing just two and a half pounds, his limbs like toothpicks. His cries were small and weak, soft little mewls that sounded about as strong as he looked. All the medical staff around him wore masks of concern, already gauging his chances of survival. But when Nana caught sight of his wrinkled, reddish-purple face, she let out a laugh that was filled only with joy.

"You couldn't wait to join me either, could you?" She cooed, reaching out to him. She was just barely able to brush his cheek with her forefinger before he was whisked away, the nurses already prepping him for the NICU. Instead of her child, a phone was placed in the new mother's outstretched hand.

"Your husband," The doctor explained softly, gazing at her with eyes full of sympathy as she lifted the phone to her ear and laid back down, exhaustion taking over her features.

"Dear?" She greeted softly.

"_Nana? Are you alright? I've been calling and calling but they haven't been letting me talk to you! I'm so sorry- No, are you alright? Weren't you due in December? I-is our child-?_"

"Dear," Nana gently interrupted his nervous ramble. "He's beautiful."

"…_We haven't decided on a name yet, have we?_"

"Tsunayoshi."

"_Eh?_"

"Tsunayoshi. That's his name."

"_You've already decided? Without me?_"

"I just gave birth without you, dear."

"_Ah…Th-that's true, but…well, are you sure? Because I've been thinking about it, and I think I really like the name-_"

"_Dear_," Her interruption was sterner this time. She had already made up her mind. "My son is _Tsunayoshi_. End of discussion."

"_Alright, fair enough. But…isn't this a bit too early for him to be born? Is he going to be alright?_"

"He's very small. And very weak. But you should have heard the way he cried, dear – his lungs are still small, but his voice was so clear. There's nothing to worry about. My little Tsu-kun's a fighter."

* * *

"Hello," Nana cooed softly, pressing her palm against the sheet of glass that separated her from her son. He had to be kept in an incubator at all times to maintain a normal body temperature, and she had yet to hold her son even once. "Are you still fighting hard, Tsu-kun?"

According to the doctor, Tsuna had been fighting _very_ hard. He couldn't breathe properly on his own, his heart hadn't developed correctly, he didn't have the coordination to suck or swallow his food, and he was already having gastrointestinal problems. It had been two weeks since his birth, and the number of health complications they were finding continued to add up. There had been many days where he didn't look like he was going to pull through. But each and every time, he survived, continuing to draw every labored breath.

"He's got the heart of a lion," The doctor concluded before handing the phone back to Nana, who thanked him for having taken the time out of his busy schedule to explain the situation to her husband.

"Did you hear that, dear?" Warmth shone through her voice, spreading like honey. "The heart of a _lion_."

"_That's my son!_" The pride in Iemitsu's voice was palpable. "_I'll be able to meet him soon. I booked the closest flight back that I could, but my bosses are merciless. Even after I told them I'm a new father, they still won't allow me to leave until my assignment is done! It's looking like it will probably be another month…I'm sorry, Nana._"

"Take your time," She whispered, still wiggling her fingers at Tsuna through the glass. Truthfully, she didn't want Iemitsu to see their child like this.

Several sensors were taped to Tsuna's skin, wires sprouting from his small body to monitor his heart rate, blood pressure, breathing, and temperature. Needles poked into his skin, delivering necessary fluids and nutrients intravenously, while a ventilation tube sat in his mouth, passing through his windpipe to help him breathe.

Nana's brow furrowed as she felt a familiar stinging sensation behind her eyes, and she swallowed hard, determined not to cry in front of her son. He was suffering, but he hadn't given up. Even with everything going on around him, bright lights and strange noises, his eyes were open and staring ahead calmly. He seemed to be squinting back at her, his little leg kicking every now and then to let her know he was still with her.

He was still fighting.

"Take your time," She repeated with a teary smile. "We're not going anywhere."

* * *

"_Nana!_" Iemitsu barreled through the halls of the hospital, calling his wife's name like a battle cry. "_Nana!_"

Staff members were trying to hold him back, urging him to quiet down, but he swatted them away like flies, barely registering the interruption as he threw a door open.

"Nana," He repeated tearfully, beginning to cry almost comically for a man his age. "I came as soon as I could…"

The young woman giggled from her bed and held a finger to her lips, "_Shh…_"

"Nana…" He wailed again, more quietly this time as she beckoned him over.

"Look at how strong your boy has gotten," She murmured, looking back down with warmth in her eyes.

She reclined on the bed, a towel draped over her bare shoulders. Her arms were curled protectively around the small form lying contently on her chest. Tsuna's small head was turned towards her, his mouth latched firmly onto her breast, earnestly sucking the nourishment that only she could provide.

"W-when did…?" Iemitsu stuttered in surprise, kneeling beside her. "I thought he couldn't eat on his own?"

"This is the first day we've tried it," Nana explained softly, lifting a hand to stroke her son's head, trailing a finger along his cheek. This was also the first time she had gotten to hold him, _really_ hold him. She didn't know if she would be able to bring herself to let go once their time was up. "It took a few tries, but he caught on quickly."

"Then, does that mean he's…?" Somehow, after all of the worrying he had done overseas, the hours spent letting his worst fears play out in his mind, Iemitsu couldn't quite bring himself to finish the question – as if doing so might shatter the possibility.

"He's going to be fine," Nana filled in for him, a broad grin stretching across her face. "The doctor said we should be able to take him home within two weeks."

All the oxygen left Iemitsu's lungs in one large, relieved exhale. Then, he began to laugh.

"I knew you could do it," He whispered, reaching out timidly to tap the back of Tsuna's hand softly. The infant jolted slightly, the little fingers of his hand flexing a few times before closing back into a small fist, locking tightly around his father's knuckle. The discrepancy in size was so wide that Tsuna's hand could barely hold Iemitsu's fingertip, but the man began to chuckle proudly. "That's one strong grip, Tsuna."

"Didn't I tell you, dear?" Nana cooed. "Our son is a fighter."

Little did she know that years later, when she murmured those words proudly once more, her husband would reply with, "_He gets it from you._"


	2. Shadows

When they finally (finally, finally, _finally_) brought Tsuna home for the first time, his body completely free of all the wires and needles and machines, he was healthier than ever.

He looked the way a newborn should, with meat on his bones, blood in his cheeks, and light in his eyes. He cried when he was hungry, at least three times a day, and his voice was clearer than a bell, his lungs stronger than ever; even when he wrenched them from sleep in the middle of the night, it was impossible for Nana and Iemitsu to feel anything other than overjoyed.

Tsuna was going to be alright.

* * *

On the other hand, Iemitsu was only able to extend his visit for another month, before he was forced back to work.

He left for the airport in the early morning, sobbing loudly and unapologetically as he climbed into the car. Watching through the window as Nana took one of Tsuna's hands and gently waved it back and forth.

"Say 'Bye-bye' to Papa, Tsu-kun," She murmured with a soft smile. The child blinked, one hand fisted tightly in her shirt as he stared after the disappearing vehicle with wide eyes.

"B…bah…" For a moment, she thought he was about to speak, but he just made a vague, meaningless sound. "_Buu_…"

She let out a small sigh, some mixture of relief and disappointment, then giggled as he began blowing little spit bubbles. Holding him firmly under the arms, she lifted Tsuna high into the air and grinned up at him as his mouth spread open into a wide, toothless smile.

"Imagine how heartbroken Papa would be if he missed your first word," Her grin broadened as he laughed, waving his arms and kicking his legs happily when she began to bounce him up and down. "We'd better get the camera out. Do you want to help Mama look for it?"

Lowering him back down, she began to hum a lighthearted tune as she turned to go back into the house, cradling her son to her chest. His cheek rested against her shoulder, with his face partially buried in her neck, but his gaze held steady on the house across the street. The early morning light was casting long dark shadows across the ground, making his pupils expand and contract slowly as his eyes struggled to focus on the hazy silhouette of a man tucked away in the alley.

* * *

Even Nana, ever the optimist, was acutely aware of her husband's absence. Each month seemed to pass by with agonizing slowness. She checked the mail each day, always hoping to find that bright little postcard sitting inside. The money came regularly, always on time, but the postcards were starting to come farther and farther apart.

She could feel her loneliness starting to weigh down on her. It pulled at her fingers whenever she cooked, making sure she only made enough to feed two-not-three mouths, and it sat on her chest at night, reminding her not to roll over in search of a warm body.

She still remembered the night he called, just a few weeks shy of Tsuna's first birthday. Her blood ran cold when he had begun explaining, that he wouldn't be home for another year, that he wouldn't be able to contact them regularly anymore. She had recited all of the usual reassurances, "We'll be fine, take your time, work hard, don't push yourself," but her eyes had been on Tsuna, sitting in his high chair and tossing his food around without a care in the world, and only one thought occupied her mind.

_He's growing up without a father. _

When Iemitsu hung up for the final time, she couldn't bring herself to do the same. She simply set the phone down and listened to the faint, droning dial tone as she slid to the ground.

No tears graced her eyes. She simply sat, staring, unmoving…

She didn't stir, even when Tsuna let out a small, disgruntled noise, done with his food and tired of the uncomfortable seating arrangement. When she didn't immediately come to his aid, his protests began turning into tears.

Her eyes slid shut.

She took a single large, gulping, desperate, achingly deep breath.

And she stood, approaching Tsuna with a reassuring smile and outstretched hands.

"I'm sorry," She cooed, smoothing down his hair and wiping some food from the corners of his mouth. "Mommy took too long, didn't she? Ooh, what's wrong, is somebody getting sleepy?"

He quickly settled back down as she pulled him out of his chair and into her warm embrace, back where it was safe and secure. She smiled as his cheek found its place on her shoulder, soft sounds of contentment bubbling from his mouth.

Bouncing him lightly on her hip, she began humming a familiar tune as she moved through the kitchen, setting the phone back in its cradle and switching off the lights.

"_Year after year,_" She sang softly, knowing the lullaby always put him straight to sleep. "_Effortlessly, sleep soundly and have a good night._"

The dishes could wait until the morning, she reasoned, moving to the front door and double checking the lock before climbing up the stairs and heading to their bedroom.

"_Year after year, effortlessly, you grow into a good person,_" He was already beginning to drift off. She could feel his head growing heavier against her shoulder, his fingers losing their grip on her shirt. "_Thank you, God, thank you too, my ange-_"

The lullaby was cut short by a small, startled gasp. Tsuna jolted in her arms, lifting his head curiously as she held him tighter, taking two slow steps back. She could have sworn, just now, when she walked by the window…

Had there been a face peering in?

She stood stock still for a moment, every muscle in her body tensed as she scrutinized the window. It was dark, but there didn't seem to be anything – or rather, any_one_ – there.

She let out a small, shaky breath. Placing her hand on Tsuna's head, she gently pressed it back down onto her shoulder, bouncing him up and down once more. She hoped she hadn't startled him too badly – they could probably both use some rest.

"_Year after year,_" She resumed, "_Effortlessly, sleep on Mama's chest…_"

* * *

Iemitsu had said he would be gone for a year, but that somehow turned into two, and then three.

Even though Tsuna was a late bloomer, hitting almost all of his major growth milestones a bit later than most children, his father still managed to miss every single one of his firsts.

The first time he rolled over on his own, the first time he sat up without any support. The first time he crawled, Nana nearly had a heart attack, glancing away for a moment just to look back and find him clambering up the stairs.

Iemitsu missed his first words, "_Mama, up!_"

His first steps, "Come on, Tsu-kun, you can do it! Mama's right here, just a little farther!"

His first tooth, his first fall, his first time on the swings, his first time going down the slide, his first time seeing a dog, his first time getting sick…

There were so _so _many. Nana did her best to document them all, but there was only so much she could capture with a camera. Iemitsu would never feel the surprise, the pride, the fear, the absolute relief when Tsuna _finally _did something that other children his age had long since mastered.

She sent her husband letters and photos, and he always replied saying how much he wished he was home.

But he never, ever came.

* * *

When it grew clear that Iemitsu was going to miss Tsuna's third birthday, Nana had to put her foot down. She wasn't about to put off Tsuna's first celebration any longer. He deserved to have a cake with candles and presents wrapped in brightly patterned paper, even if he didn't have any friends to celebrate with yet. He deserved all of that, and so much more.

So one day she found herself bundling him up in two coats and a scarf, even though it was just barely starting to grow cold out, and told him, "We're going out today, Tsu-kun!"

She fussed over his hair, trying to fit it all under a hat; when he responded, though, her fingers froze.

"To see 'Papa'?" It wasn't a surprise that he would ask that, really – she had been going on and on about it over the past few weeks, talking about how Papa would finally be coming to see them again. He had promised in his last letter, after all (not just some note on a postcard, an actual letter!), and she hadn't yet learned not to put any stock in those empty words of his.

She could hear the quotation marks in Tsuna's voice. Of course, he had been so young when he met his father…he knew he had one, but he didn't know _who_ it was. To him, Iemitsu was just a vague concept, nothing more.

"No," Nana replied, recovering quickly as she pulled the hat snugly over his ears. "We're going shopping!"

He wrinkled his nose slightly at the notion. Shopping had never been his favorite activity – all the walking made his feet hurt, it was crowded and loud, and usually boring. He did perk up slightly, though, when she said, "I'll buy you any treat you want!"

"Like ice cream?"

"If that's what you want!"

He didn't put up any resistance after that.

One of the things Nana loved most about their house was how close it was to the shopping district. It was just a simple five minute walk between locking the door behind her, and stepping onto that bustling street filled with stores and vendors, Tsuna's hand clasped tightly in hers.

"Make sure you point out anything you like, alright?" She repeated, smiling as he nodded with a determined glint in his eye, scrutinizing the shops' windows. She wanted to make sure he would have a pile of presents to wake up to on his special day, like an early Christmas.

Ever since he had started learning to read, he had taken large interest in books of all kinds, so it was hardly a surprise when he tugged on her sleeve and pointed out the first book shop he saw.

However, it was slightly more surprising when a flower shop caught his eye, and significantly more so when the pet store captivated him. Nana had always tried to avoid it, considering how terrified he was of dogs – ever since the first one he met had gotten a little too excited and pushed him to the ground and started nipping at his face, he had never quite been able to see them in a positive light, but he seemed unbothered when they were in kennels. It was a pleasant surprise.

He was usually shy and reserved about what he wanted, so Nana had thought she would have a hard time getting ideas out of him, but by the end of the day, she had a satisfyingly long list. She could stop though another day, when his babysitter was available, and pick everything up. The money Iemitsu sent each month always had just a little extra, so she had saved up a decent amount over the past year for occasions just like this. She could even afford high quality wrapping paper, and a few of those fancy ribbons that were made out of shiny materials and tied into flowers.

It had been a long time since she had felt quite so happy – like things were really going the way they were supposed to, for a change.

Maybe that was just too much to hope for.

She just wanted to get a cake. She could store it in the fridge and focus on cooking up a small feast that night, dedicate her full attention to buying presents the next day. She wanted to make sure it would still be a surprise, though, so she told Tsuna to wait by the entrance of the bakery while she bought the cake.

"Make sure nobody steals the cookies," She instructed. "I'll buy you one if you do a good job!"

She had only taken her eyes off of him for a moment.

One second, he was there, staring intently at the cookies.

The next second, he was gone.

Nana's breath froze in her chest. He had _just _been there.

Her eyes darted to and fro, searching wildly for a small, familiar form, now nowhere to be seen _he had just been there_ _where was he?_

The cake she had paid for fell to the ground, the pretty box crushed underfoot as its contents spilled out. She couldn't have cared less.

"Tsu-kun?!" She shouted as she ran out, gaining several odd looks and a quite a few stares. "_Tsu-kun?!_"

Nothing.

She took several steps backward, spinning around in a slow circle as she continued to call out his name, her volume growing exponentially as she panicked, fear gripping her heart like a freezing cold claw trying to tear its way through her chest and stomach. She couldn't see straight, couldn't breathe right, everything was spinning, _where was he?_

All the sights and sounds around her were blurring together, one large cacophonous storm of chaos, oh god oh god oh _god_

"-ma!" One single voice suddenly cut right through the din, clear as a bell. "_Mama!_"

Nana's head whipped around, homing in on the sound like a beacon, and her eyes immediately found him.

Her heart skipped a beat.

A hand was clamping back over his mouth, arms wrapped around his torso and lifting him off the ground. A car was parked just a few feet behind them, the door open, the engine already running. It was so surreal, the situation didn't quite register: her son was being kidnapped.

Tsuna's small hands were gripping the post of a street light, desperately trying to keep himself from being taken, but he wasn't strong enough, tears in his eyes, hands slipping-

Nana didn't even think. She couldn't even make a sound, her scream stuck in her throat like a pill that was impossible to swallow, all she could do was run. There was nothing soft or kind or polite in the way she shoved strangers aside, using her elbows as weapons and stepping on toes, her eyes burning with too many emotions at once as thoughts tore through her mind like a hurricane,

_I'm not going to make it in time_

_I have to save_

_Why are they doing this_

_I'll never forgive_

_I'm not going to make it_

_I can't_

_I'm going to lose him_

_I'm going to lose him, I'm going to lose him, I'm going to_

_No_

_No no no_

_Nononononononononononononono_

She watched in horror as Tsuna finally lost his grip, still yards away from her. It was over almost instantly. The man didn't even look up as he turned around and threw her son into the car, climbing in after him, slamming the door shut.

With a rev of the engine and a squeal of tires, the car was gone, with Tsuna in it, and Nana finally found her voice, one full of anger and hatred and soul-crushing despair,

"_TSUNA!"_

* * *

**A/N:** I haven't been able to find the title of the lullaby Nana sings. It's from a youtube video, titled "My Favorite Lullaby (Japanese)" uploaded by user Advice2Go. I went ahead and used the rough translation provided by one of the commenters, but I highly recommend giving it a listen, it's a really lovely song. If you happen to know what it's called, by any chance, please let me know!**  
**

Aside from that, thank you all for the support you've given this story. Every fave, follow, and review always puts a smile on my face and really motivates me to keep writing, so I owe all of you quite a bit! I'll be trying to update this on a weekly basis, every Tuesday, though my schedule has been a bit rocky so I can't make any promises. I'll be trying my best, though, so I'll hopefully see you all next week! Until then, stay safe!


	3. Lion

From the moment he realized Nana was pregnant, Iemitsu had felt a small rift forming in his heart.

He had met many others in his particular line of work that never allowed themselves to form emotional attachments. They severed ties with parents and siblings, rarely made friends, and never dared to chase after that wretched thing called "love". It was all weakness, an inevitable condemnation to loss and heartbreak.

When he first began working under the Ninth, Iemitsu tried to do the same. He honestly tried very hard – but all it took was one kind smile from the woman he would eventually call his wife, and he knew it was a lost cause.

Evidently, he was one of the last to reach this conclusion. Anyone who considered him a friend, or even just an acquaintance, was well aware that he wasn't exactly a man of discipline. It was considered common knowledge.

He preferred to think himself a man of passion – they didn't call him the Young Lion of the Vongola for nothing – he had a tendency to let his heart rule his head. Of course, with a job like his, he had to know when and how to hold himself in check…that was only in the most dire of situations, though.

But from the very beginning, Nana was different. When it came to her, it was never a matter probabilities and likelihoods. There was no weighing of pros and cons, no point in sitting down and trying to talk some sense into himself. Meeting her was like stumbling across a diamond in a coal mine, and no matter how he looked at it, there was no way he was letting a gem like that out of his sight. When he proposed, he told her, "I'd sooner die than live with the knowledge that I let some other man snatch you up."

It had all been very romantic, like something straight out of a movie. He knew she liked stuff like that – oh, how her eyes had sparkled when he delivered that line with all the gusto and bravado that one should expect from a haughty young Mafioso! (Many, many years later, he would look back on that moment and finally have the sense to cringe at the memory.)

Their marriage had been a grand affair, all church bells and flower petals and a white dress with a train longer than he was tall; he could easily say that that was the happiest he had ever been. No matter how much time they spent with each other, they never seemed to fall out of the honeymoon phase – he doubted there was a married couple more loving than them.

Everything was perfect.

It wasn't until she emerged from the bathroom with that little white stick and a grin brighter than the sun, that the voice, which had been whispering persistently in the back of his mind over the years, began to scream.

It began to screech, really, louder than a banshee that had just stubbed her toe.

All at once, amidst the chaos of happiness and fear battling it out inside of him, Iemitsu began to realize his mistake. He would never forget the feeling of dread settling in the pit of his stomach, heavy and black, overshadowing every other emotion that was so desperately vying for control. His trepidation and anxiety only continued to grow as the months passed by, each day bringing Nana one step closer to her due date, his heart growing heavier with each second that ticked by.

He had never felt so much shame and horror as he did on the night of their third anniversary, when he looked at her swollen belly and caught himself hoping for a miscarriage. The mere thought had been enough to make him ill.

But when he first laid eyes on his son, so small and frail and kind of wrinkly and purplish…he had never felt so much _pride_.

And when Tsuna had gripped his finger so tightly, Iemitsu had found himself awash in happiness – happiness, and utter dismay. Because in that moment, he was certain: Tsuna had inherited his flames.

And so that rift in his heart began to grow, widening and deepening, splitting him in two.

He was torn,

Torn between home and work,

Torn between wife and boss,

Torn between duty to "family", and duty to _family_.

In the end, he made what he thought to be the right decision. He was a member of the Vongola, had served the Ninth for the better half of his life, owed them everything. It was his responsibility to inform them of his son's circumstances, knowing full well that Tsuna's mere existence was about to cause massive waves within the mafia community. He knew better than to try running away, to try hiding; while he would stop at nothing to keep his wife and child safe, he still had a job to do.

But it was foolish to think there would be no sacrifices involved.

It didn't take much to ensure his son's safety. So long as Tsuna never grew aware of his flames, he posed no threat to the Vongola, nor its line of succession. But following that logic, Iemitsu was a liability, as someone that was both affiliated with the Vongola and aware of the flames.

So the deal was struck: if Iemitsu cut all ties with his family, his son would be under the Vongola's protection.

He never imagined making the right decision could possibly be so painful. Never before had he felt such a loathly hatred and envy towards the men out there who could boast a healthy balance between work and home life. For Iemitsu, it was simply one or the other, no compromise, no middle ground.

For once, his head would have to rule his heart – the lion would have to be tamed.

* * *

They did, at least, allow Iemitsu to determine what methods and measures would be taken to protect his family. There were very few people he could entrust with such a task, so it wasn't a difficult decision to make.

Turmeric accepted the assignment as professionally and stoically as ever, while Oregano looked a bit stung by the prospect of being assigned to what was essentially babysitter duty.

"Master," She tested, not wanting to overstep her bounds. "I understand why you would want someone looking after your family, but…why us? There's plenty that still needs to be done here, which our skillsets are far better suited for. Have…have you judged our abilities to be inferior to everyone else's?"

She visibly flinched when his hand rested heavily on her shoulder, reassuring but also firm.

"It's the exact opposite, Oregano. I'm putting my family's safety in your hands – there aren't many people I can rely on to take care of them in my absence. I'm choosing you because I can't think of anyone that I trust more…you understand?"

"Y…yes," Was her halting reply. Though her head was bowed, he could see her reservations were still written all over her face. "I apologize."

"Buck up," Turmeric clapped her on the back twice. "How often do you get the chance to see your boss's cute newborn son?"

"Not very, I suppose," She replied with a half-hearted smile. "I'll begin making the arrangements."

"We'll update you when necessary, Master."

* * *

Iemitsu tried to be patient. He knew they were working hard, but frankly, "when necessary" wasn't nearly often enough. Without being able to call and check on Nana and Tsuna, his nerves were slowly being grated away every single day.

While Turmeric was almost permanently stationed in Namimori, Oregano would fly back to HQ every few weeks, and she would provide him with a brief summary of everything they had observed. Besides that, they would occasionally call in, telling him of Tsuna's most recent plight, which was never anything more dangerous than a head cold or a scraped knee.

They were chasing shadows.

As their assignment stretched on longer and longer, with nothing to show for it, Iemitsu began to take pity on them, and on himself as well. Truthfully, they _were_ needed back in Italy – he was practically drowning in all of the paperwork that needed to be done on top of all of the traveling he did. It felt like he was having them protect his family from the boogeyman, some imaginary enemy he had concocted out of sheer paranoia. If that were the case, they were better off returning to his side, where they could make a serious contribution.

If Turmeric's call hadn't come when it had, he probably would have ordered them to abandon the post and finally return to CEDEF, permanently.

But the call _had_ come – and the news it brought was hardly reassuring.

"We caught a spy."

"_What?_" Honestly, Iemitsu shouldn't have been so surprised – this was the exact reason he had stationed two of his best people over there, after all. But still, after nearly two years of peace, this felt like a slap to the face. "From which family?"

"He had a cyanide pill on him. I couldn't even get one question out before he was gone."

"Cyanide…so whoever they are, they consider this a high risk mission."

"Oregano first noticed him tailing your wife at the market a few days ago. There's no way of knowing how long that's been going on for, but we've been keeping an eye on him. We finally had to intercept last night, when he tried to break into their house."

Iemitsu's hands were clenched into fists at his sides, trembling.

"Good work," He bit out, keeping his voice as calm as he could. "I owe you one."

"We're just doing our job. Oregano would like permission to return early. She thinks she may have better luck tracking down information with the resources you have back at HQ. We're running a pretty bare-bones operation down here. "

"If something else happens, will you be alright on your own?"

The man scoffed, "I was the one who took the guy down. She just stood there and told me where to hit him."

"_Because you were doing it wrong!_" Oregano's voice was significantly fainter, but still clear. "_You can't interrogate a man if he has a crushed trachea!_"

"I'll take your word for it," Iemitsu chuckled slightly. "She's clear to come back anytime."

"Roger that."

When Iemitsu snapped the cell phone shut, the screen cracked beneath his fingers.

He could only process one thought: someone was trying to hurt his family – and that someone was going to _suffer_ for it.

* * *

There was no longer any question about it – somehow, word had gotten out about Tsuna, and his ties to the Vongola.

With Oregano's diligent work, assistance, and expertise (it seemed she had grown rather fond of the child, as she was working harder than ever to keep him safe), Iemitsu had managed to track down no less than three families, each trying to get their hands on his son for one reason or another.

This was bad.

As long as the Ninth's sons were still alive and well, Tsuna was worthless to the mafia. The fact that so many people were suddenly trying to get their hands on him could only mean one thing: Iemitsu wasn't the only one with a child in danger.

Despite everything they had done to hunt down information, names, locations, they were no closer to finding any answers than they had been one year ago. There was no one willing to give up any information on who, exactly, was plotting to make an attempt on the potential Vongola heirs' lives.

Meanwhile, Iemitsu was reacquainting himself with a familiar sense of growing dread. It was like an old friend, one that he had long since learned not to ignore, that was constantly resting at the pit of his stomach. He was well aware that the Ninth, and the Vongola as a whole, needed him now more than ever – but somehow, that just didn't seem quite as important as it used to. He had already missed three years of Tsuna's life, and at this rate, he honestly didn't know how many years Tsuna had left. It was time for him to start being a good father, not just a good employee.

If only he had reached that conclusion just one day earlier.

He was just starting to pull his coat on, prepared to board a plane with nothing but the clothes on his back and whatever he could fit into a briefcase, when his phone rang. He barely had the chance to take a breath and say "hello?" before Oregano's frantic voice was blasting through the speaker, wobbling in that way it did when she was truly distressed by something – and she wasn't the type to easily lose her composure.

She hadn't even finished her sentence when the phone hit the ground with a loud clatter, leaving her with the receding sound of Iemitsu's heavy footsteps, which were quickly being drowned out by the sound of enraged screams echoing – _roaring – _throughout the building.

* * *

**A/N:** Sorry for the late update this week. I found myself unexpectedly bogged down with some extra stressors, but I finally carved out some time to write up a short chapter. I didn't mean to keep the cliffhanger hanging, but this felt like a good break, and I wanted to update sooner rather than later. At the very least, it serves as a good incentive to keep me writing regularly! I'll be back next week with more Nana and Tsuna, but for now, have some Papa Sawada (who really needs to take some time to figure out his priorities), and thank you for all of the support and feedback!


	4. Sleep

It rained.

Dark storm clouds had been gathering in the sky all morning, ominous and portentous, eventually condensing into a light sprinkle that only grew heavier as the sun traveled westward. The sky cried for Nana, it's tears mingling with her own as she ran through the street, screaming.

The rain fell harder, coating the ground, making it slick.

She slipped and fell more than once, but she kept pushing forward, crawling if she had to. Her thoughts had lost all coherency, dissolving into a senseless jumble as equally incoherent words tumbled from her lips.

_Tsuna, Tsuna, Tsuna_

_I can't_

_Where is it, where is it_

_Tsuna, Tsuna, Tsuna, Tsuna, Tsuna_

_I can't see_

**_Where are they_**

Even if she hadn't been screaming, the wild look in her eyes was enough to force others out of her path. She could still see the back of the car, just barely, its license plate growing smaller and smaller as it easily sped away, far out of her reach. There was no hope of her catching up to it.

But she still ran.

A ragged, breathless sob tore from her throat as she helplessly watched it turn a corner, out of the busy shopping district and onto the open street. It was gone.

She ran harder.

Her toes slammed into a large pebble, set unevenly into the cobblestone pavement. Pain arced through her leg, and she stumbled again as her shoe was pried loose. Momentum carried her too far, and she soon found herself sprawled out on the ground, vision blurring with fresh tears as her chin cracked hard against the stone.

"Oh my god…" The quiet exclamation came from her right. Nana turned her head, struggling to focus her eyes on the source of the voice. Random facts flew through her mind in broken fragments, like pieces of a puzzle.

A woman dressed in a pantsuit. Eyes, wide with shock, staring from behind the lens of her glasses. Long hair tied into a simple knot at the nape of her neck. Foreign features. A phone pressed to her ear.

Nana scrambled blindly for a moment, trying to shake the fog from her mind as she finally pushed herself back onto her hands and knees. She reached out, trying to find her lost shoe, but gave up quickly. There was only one command screaming through her mind now, blasting through the pain and the fear.

_Keep running._

She pulled herself upright and her feet found purchase against the wet stone once more. Somewhere along the way, she lost her other shoe, but she just didn't care. All that mattered was running, moving forward, faster, _faster_.

She was vaguely aware of a voice calling after her, "Ma'am! Excuse me, _ma'am!_"

She could feel sharp pinpricks of pain as foreign objects dug into the soft soles of her feet, tearing into the skin, bruising the flesh. She could feel the cold, heavy weight of the rain as it soaked through her clothes, drenched her hair, ran down her forehead and trickled into her eyes.

None of it mattered. It was all a distant distraction, too insignificant to be worth her attention. Every sound, every ache and biting sting – all of it was simply pushed to the back of her mind, allowing her to focus on the only thing that mattered. She could hear the road, the sound of tires rushing through shallow pools of water, horns honking, voices yelling.

That was where the car would be.

That was where _Tsuna_ would be.

She was focused, _so_ focused. She needed to reach Tsuna, she needed to find her son, to save him, to have him back in her arms, her face buried in his wild mess of hair, hear his laughter, see his smile, she needed needed _needed_-

"_MA'AM!_"

Fingers suddenly dug into her arm, capturing her in a tight viselike grip that yanked her backwards violently enough to make her stumble. She fell into a warm, sturdy body, and felt a pair of arms wrap around her as the cacophonous sound of screeching tires and honking horns reached her ears.

"N-no," She breathed, shuddered, then repeated herself, screaming this time. "No! Let me go, let me go…!" She reached up to pound at the body, clawing at the hands that held her hostage. "My son, they took my _son!_"

Her voice cracked, and the arms tightened around her.

"I know," The same voice from earlier replied, smooth and low and unmistakably feminine. "Please, just stop for a moment-"

Her words fell on deaf ears. Nana only struggled harder, "I have to save my son, let me go, let me-!"

The arms shifted. Hands gripped her shoulders, fingers digging painfully into the skin and muscle. A vaguely familiar face came into view, eyes hidden behind fogged up glasses, worry creased into every surface of the woman's features. Her expression morphed into some intense mixture of fear and anger as she shook Nana, hard, almost violently.

"Are you planning to_ orphan him?_" The woman practically screamed into her face.

Nana recoiled, shifting her weight in an attempt to step back. Pain, far sharper than anything she had felt so far, blossomed in her ankle. She glanced down and found it twisted awkwardly, unnaturally, her foot still caught in a gutter.

All at once, she came crashing back into her body.

No longer lost in that strange haze of desperation and denial, everything seemed to sharpen and come into focus around her. She could suddenly hear her panting, half-sobbing breaths with sharp clarity, the sound of the rain hitting the ground around her, the cars, the footsteps, the wind. She smelled the sharp scent of the storm, the woman's mild perfume, and the blood on her chin.

She sucked in a strained breath and whipped her head around, eyes widening in horror. Cars zipped by, going nearly fifty miles per hour. This was one of Namimori's busiest streets…

And she had nearly run straight into that traffic.

She let out another small wheeze, turning back around to look at her rescuer.

"My…my son…" She repeated, this time in defeat. When she tried to shift her leg, her ankle screamed out in protest and her vision swam. She sagged against the woman, who kneeled down, lowering her carefully.

"I understand," She murmured, gingerly cradling Nana's foot in her hands and disentangling it from the gutter. "But right now, you need to stay off of your feet. Your ankle is broken, and you hit your head pretty hard back there. Just leave your son to us."

Nana's brow furrowed at that.

"Who…_are_ you?"

The woman chewed on her lip, eyes lowered as she fussed over the injury. She didn't answer, even after several seconds had passed…so Nana repeated the question, twice, reaching out to grab the woman's wrist the second time.

"I'm…" The stranger finally spoke, swallowing heavily before heaving a large sigh. Her gaze flicked to the people that were beginning to crowd around them, leaning in as she lowered her voice. "Just call me Oregano. I'm a colleague of your husband."

Nana's frown deepened. She opened her mouth to try and sort through all of her questions, but Oregano cut her off with a quick murmured apology, which only furthered her confusion.

Without any other warning, the mysterious "colleague" gripped her injured foot tightly, and pulled.

Nana's head fell back, her throat closing around a strangled scream as she felt the bones in her ankle _shift_. She struggled to breathe as dark spots danced in her vision, crowding out the light, the people, the noise.

On the second pull, everything went dark.

* * *

Nana knew she was unconscious, but it didn't feel like sleep. It was dreamless, nothing but heavy darkness that closed in around her from all sides, making her mind dull, fuzzy.

There was something she needed to do, a desperate nagging sensation that clawed at her, begging her to take action. But it was so hard to remember. Trying to think felt like trying to walk through quicksand.

But occasionally, the fog would clear, and she would grow aware of her body, heavy and tired. The simple action of peeling her eyelids open felt like it required the strength of an Olympic weightlifter.

The first time she roused, she could feel something soft and scratchy beneath her, which she eventually determined to be a couch. A light blanket was draped over her, although she could feel cold air whispering across her toes.

A woman – _Oregano, _her sluggish mind provided after a minute – was rummaging through some cabinets a few feet away, a mobile phone lying on a table. The voice of whomever she was speaking to came out loudly on the speaker, cutting through heavy static.

"_-let him know what's happened?_"

"Yes, but he didn't even respond. He just dropped the phone and started yelling…he's probably on a plane headed here right now."

"_We'd better not keep him waiting, then. The wife is safe?_"

"She's secure, at least. I want to make sure we weren't followed before I take her to the hospital, but I can't wait much longer – I did my best to set the break myself, but she needs real medical treatment, the kind a facility can provide. The best I can do is sedate her for now. How are things on your end?"

"_Quiet. I followed as far as I could on foot, but nearly lost them. I had to steal someone's cab._"

"Turmeric…"

"_Hey, I'll return it when this is over! It kept me on their tail, didn't it? I followed them to this old abandoned factory. It's…creepy. Definitely bad news. I'm lying low for now, trying to get the lay of the land. I haven't been able to tell how many people are here, or if they have weapons._"

"Wait, if you can. Once I've made sure no one's after the Master's wife as well, I'll come back you up."

"_I'll try, but I've got a bad feeling about this._"

"Gee, I wonder where that's coming from."

"_I can always count on you to add a healthy dose of-…wait…_"

Oregano pulled her head out of the cabinet and straightened up, snatching the phone up.

"What's wrong?"

"_I think they're on the…no,_" A heavy string of curses filled the room. "_I need to go._"

"Turmeric-!" She let out a curse of her own as the man hung up, leaving her with a hollow dial tone. She threw the phone down with an angry grunt, watching it clatter across the carpeted floor just as Nana shifted under her blanket, trying to sit up and form a question.

"Who are you talking…?" Nana was displeased to find her speech heavily slurred, her tongue like a dying slug in her mouth.

"Hey," Oregano murmured, coming to kneel by her side. Nana felt fingers wrap around her wrist, pulling her arm out. She frowned, trying to tug it back, but Oregano's grip was firm. Something glinted in her other hand. "You're going to be just fine, alright? I'm going to take you to the hospital soon, where you can get some proper treatment."

"I…I don't want to-" Nana's weak protest was cut off by a small yelp as she felt a pinch in the crook of her elbow. Glancing down, she saw Oregano pulling the thin needle of a syringe from her vein.

"Just get some rest for now," Oregano's severe tone of voice softened as she laid a hand on Nana's head, the sound oddly soothing. "This will all be over soon."

The pull of sleep grew stronger, and Nana's breathing slowed as her eyelids grew heavier and heavier, before finally sliding back shut.

* * *

This time, Nana _did_ dream.

She dreamt of her parents, her wedding, Iemitsu's smile, their honeymoon.

She dreamt of the hours she had spent in labor.

When her eyes finally cracked open once, she was plunged into confusion. A nurse stood beside her, murmuring something unintelligible, and a doctor stood at the foot of her bed. Nana's lips parted, and her voice came out in a hoarse croak.

"Do I need to push?"

The doctor's head snapped up, "What did she say?"

"Something about pushing?" The nurse responded, leaning over to peer into Nana's face. "Sawada-san? Can you hear me? Do you know where you are?"

"My baby…is my baby alright?"

"…She doesn't seem to be fully lucid."

"I'm not surprised, with the amount of Diazepam in her system. I'm still trying to figure out how that foreigner got her hands on the stuff, much less knew how to properly administer it intravenously."

Nana's eyes rolled up lazily as she tried to orient herself, barely able to make heads or tails of the conversation taking place around her. Sleep fogged her mind, and she could still feel its pull, strong and intoxicating.

"Sawada-san?" The nurse addressed her again, a gloved hand pressing to her cheek as her eyelids drooped once more. "Stay with me, now."

The nurse seemed intent on keeping her awake, but it was already too late. Her eyes slid back shut.

* * *

When Nana awoke for the third time, she felt more clear headed than she had in…hours? Days? It was hard to tell. Her memories were a fuzzy, jumbled mess, and her mind still felt clouded with fatigue and…drugs?

She was stretched out on a hard, uncomfortable surface. It felt like a bench of some sort, and she could feel something heavy draped over her shoulders. It smelled strongly of smoke and nicotine.

Her nose wrinkled, and she shifted slightly, trying to push the unpleasant scent away. There was a dull throbbing behind her eyes, and a slightly sharper ache in her leg. As she continued to wake up with agonizing slowness, she grew aware of many more aches and pains all over her body.

Not wanting to dwell on that, she extended her senses further, trying to figure out where she was through the haze of half formed thoughts swirling around her head.

She could hear footsteps, fingers clacking away at a keyboard, the slow ticking of a clock…

Voices. She heard voices.

She tried to zero in on the conversation, but she could only pick up a few words and phrases here and there.

"_…been through a lot_…"

"…_happened with the kid?_"

"_...some thug…_"

"_…tried to drown…_"

"_…old factory…_"

"_…those big trash bins…_"

"_…filled with water…_"

"_…what kind of sick…_"

"_…anonymous tip…_"

"…_got there just in time…_"

None of it made sense. Nana just wanted to go back to sleep, stop struggling to piece those sentences together and just turn over, ignore them.

But a little voice in the back of her drug laden mind urged her to stay awake, to keep listening. She frowned a little bit, feeling the muscles in her face tug and tighten, her brow furrowing. She continued pulling her mind into the realm of consciousness, and her sluggish thoughts began to clear, becoming faster, more complete.

The voices, which had sounded so muffled and distant just a moment ago, grew louder. The words began to connect, forming full sentences, which in turn pulled at the edges of her memory, prompting and pushing and demanding,

_Remember, _

_Remember, _

**_Remember!_**

Her eyes flew open, the name already on her lips, "_Tsuna_…_!_"

She was upright in an instant, throwing her pungent blanket – someone's jacket – aside with a loud gasp. Several figures stiffened in the periphery of her vision, and she could see one of them stepping forward, reaching out to place a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

She slapped it away.

"I won't go back to sleep!" She insisted, frustrated to find her words still slurring a bit. "My son-!"

"Calm down," The hand reached out again, clamping down firmly on her arm. She cringed under the touch, heart pounding wildly as her eyes found the source of the voice, the source of those fingers that _wouldn't stay away._ "You're alright."

It was a stocky, heavyset man. He had small eyes, a jaw like a brick, and short hair tucked neatly beneath a…police cap.

"Where…where am I?" Nana's voice was small and shaky, her fingers trembling in her lap.

"You're at the police station – you're safe."

_That's not what matters,_ her mind hissed.

"My son…" She murmured, twisting around to grip the sleeves of his shirt. "Where's my _son_?"

"Miss, calm _down_," He stressed, repeating himself. "He's safe – a little banged up and more than a bit shaken up, but he's safe. He's just going through a routine checkup right now."

Nana hardly dared to breathe as she repeated the word over and over in her head,

_Safe, safe, safe, safe, safe…_

A tiny thread of relief snaked around her heart, and she let her body sag back into the bench. She could barely hear the officer speaking over the sound of blood rushing in her ears, but she nodded numbly as he repeated his question, "Are you feeling alright?"

"What happened?"

"Actually, we were hoping you might be able to shed some light on that. We've been asking ourselves the same exact question all evening."

Nana stared at him uncomprehendingly.

"What do you mean?"

"Earlier this afternoon, someone called in anonymously, saying a child had been kidnapped. They gave us a _very_ specific location, and just hung up. The whole thing felt fishy, but a few officers were dispatched, and that's how we found your son. About an hour later, some foreigner showed up and basically dumped your sleeping body on our doorstep, saying something about a missing son. We put two and two together, but most of us around here are still scratching our heads and trying to figure out exactly what happened today."

"I…I see…" Swallowing, Nana stared at the ground, trying to piece floating bits of her memory back together and match them to the officer's story. She noticed, distractedly, that her foot was wrapped in a cast, bringing back the image of her snapped ankle. She closed her eyes as the room began to rock beneath her, gently, like a boat.

"Do you have any idea who that foreigner was?" The officer prompted.

She swallowed again and replayed one of the few clear memories she had.

_'I'm a colleague of your husband.' _

She took a breath.

"…No," Nana finally replied, shaking her head apologetically. "My son was taken at the shopping district, around lunch time. I…fell, while I was chasing after him, and I must have hit my head. I don't remember anything after that."

"I guess we're all in the dark, then," The officer didn't look surprised by her response, but he did seem a bit disappointed. With a small grunt, he pushed himself back onto his feet and patted her shoulder once more. "I'm sorry you went through that, it must have been traumatic for you. It looks like you had a few guardian angels looking over your shoulder, though."

"Yes," Nana agreed, though not with nearly as much optimism. "I suppose I did."

* * *

The flight back to Japan was excruciatingly long. For nearly twelve hours, Iemitsu sat with his hands clenched, sipping on alcohol every now and then, his leg bobbing up and down as he ran through every worst-case-scenario he could think up.

Anything, even torture, had to be better than this.

Once he landed, a quick phone call to Turmeric and Oregano was enough to ease most of the tension that he had built up. They had taken care of it, he was reassured again and again, everyone was safe and they now had a lead suspect in custody. Iemitsu took comfort in the fact that his wife and son were out of danger, but he still wanted to see them for himself.

It took some time to track them down – by the time he strode through the front entrance of the hospital, the very same one where his wife had given birth three years ago, it was well past midnight.

He spotted them almost immediately.

Nana's hair fell around her shoulders like a shawl, full of tangles and knots. She sat in one of the hard seats that lined the waiting room, her small form hunched over a bundle in her arms. Iemitsu's heart gave a painful tug as he slowly realized what the bundle was – his son.

It shouldn't have come as a surprise, but he was still taken aback by how much Tsuna had grown – it wasn't a baby wrapped up in that blanket, but a small boy.

A wild mop of hair, which definitely didn't used to be there, rested against Nana's shoulder. Bare feet poked out of the woolen covering, legs draped across the seats; fingers, so much larger than the ones that had barely been able to wrap around Iemitsu's knuckle, twisted into the fabric of Nana's blouse. Tsuna's chest rose and fell steadily, eyes screwed shut against the bright fluorescent lighting as he slept, twitching occasionally.

Iemitsu assumed Nana was sleeping as well, but when his feet came to a stop directly in front of her, her head slowly lifted.

Anticipation and joy made his heart swell.

Here, right in front of him, was everything he had been missing over the years. The ache in his chest, that gaping hole in his heart, was finally soothed away as his gaze found her face, the woman that could ease all his worries and pains – his _wife._

As her eyes focused in on him, returning his stare, he could see hundreds of emotions dance across her face. Surprise, happiness, affection, relief…

But her expression settled on something that made him freeze in place. As the fog of exhaustion seemed to clear from her mind, her eyes narrowed, and she stared at him with…suspicion, and distrust.

She looked _betrayed_.

Iemitsu opened his mouth to say something, _anything_, but his voice caught in his throat, frozen under that look. This wasn't how he had envisioned their reunion. This wasn't warm and joyful. It was cold and distant and wrong, wrong, _wrong_.

They remained that way, motionless, for what felt like an eternity, just…staring at each other.

Finally, Nana lowered her gaze back down to Tsuna, tenderly brushing a few stray locks of hair from his forehead. She let out a soft sigh and finally broke the silence, her voice little more than a whisper,

"Iemitsu," It had been years since she had called him anything other than 'Dear'. She wouldn't even _look_ at him. "What haven't you been telling me?"


End file.
